UlasanAnime.com – From a consumption perspective, our intake of anime can be viewed like a diet, where a semblance of balance and moderation can significantly enhance enjoyment. However, this analogy doesn’t quite fit for voracious viewers like myself, who constantly follow a dozen or more shows simultaneously. For some, the episodic grind might resemble a race, with each title as a competitor, and the one finishing first is the winner. I find this survival-of-the-fittest paradigm easily applicable to real-life situations. For instance, AX weekend, a five-day ordeal, significantly limits my anime consumption. It coincidentally falls during a week when many shows are concluding and new ones are beginning, leaving a slimmed pool of finales to choose from. Those I select first (in this case, Tsuritama, if you were wondering) “win” this figurative race.
Honestly, both analogies sound like jokes from Jintai, reflecting human society’s decline through an overly sophisticated detachment from reality and a greed-based disregard for consequences, ranging from commercialism to consumerism. Anime isn’t created solely for people to consume anime, is it? Chickens aren’t born because people will eat them, are they?
Where is my sentient toupee?
I believe individuals capable of this kind of introspection will find amusement in Humanity Has Declined, or Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita. Or simply, Jintai. Mai Nakahara’s wry delivery is dry and grit-free, much like the pastel artwork and children’s storybook-style designs, evoking a dissonance once the viewer looks beyond its seemingly candy-coated exterior. Or in this case, chicken skin.
PA Works’ next original high school rom-com, Tari Tari, does not disappoint. Admittedly, I didn’t expect much from it initially, much like my initial low expectations for True Tears. However, the show so far possesses a mind of its own and carves its own unique path. The characters remind me of my friend Vinny, who doesn’t tolerate whining and would only mentally slap someone, not physically. (Let alone on the butt.) In this instance, Sawa-chan is a superior creation worthy of his admiration. I, on the other hand, find the entire experience somewhat odd and, as Hyouka would put it, “I wonder?” Also, you’ve noticed Sawa treating Konatsu like an equine friend, right, with that “pat on the back”? I suppose that’s C83 material.
I watched the first two episodes of Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse at Anime Expo, so with episode 2 airing this past weekend, I can reveal some details. Well, it wasn’t a huge shock that we were rid of Yui’s friends, but it was rather gruesome. The real show doesn’t commence until episode 3, so I have little to offer here besides good luck to those braving the games as a result of the anime adaptation. Oh, I suppose I genuinely like Kuribayashi’s ending theme. Finally, something that doesn’t sound like every other song she performs.
Oda Nobuna no Yabou has been inoffensive so far. Any show featuring Kanetomo-sensei deserves at least a 3. That said, I’ve only dropped one show thus far after its first episode. However, watching two concurrent shows featuring warring-state generals as nubile anime girls might be too much; we shall see. At least in Nobuna’s show, there are plenty of male characters, even older ones. Having attempted the game myself (oh gosh, I don’t recall which platform it was on), the entire premise isn’t entirely unfamiliar.
I dropped the Chiaki Kon-directed La storia della Arcana Famiglia because Mamiko might be the only element worth watching for me in the show. The lead girl is a bit too much like a typical reverse-harem protagonist. It’s not my preferred genre anyway.
If I needed more subpar Italian riffage, there’s Yoko Hikasa in Campione! if you swing the other way. Action, fanservice, a bit of a potato-kun action; it’s not much to riff on, actually. At least there’s some car-service. I mean, seriously, let’s put the “sha” in itasha. Or Pikasha, for that matter. A small personal anecdote: On Friday, I picked up this month’s Super Dash & Go! for the Yoko Hikasa photoshoot. I didn’t realize she was actually wearing some Campione-inspired outfit in that shoot until I saw the first episode about 12 hours later. Great way to leverage that 2.5D material in your mix-media focused magazine, right? I think they’re doing it right if *I* am buying this magazine. Which now means I can take a look at how terrible the new ROD reboot is.
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I rather enjoyed Kokoro Connect. It doesn’t look as stunning as, say, Hyouka, but if Hyouka were half as interesting as Kokoroco, it would already be the show of the year. That said, Kokoro Connect is also an off-beat piece, and besides the plot device that makes me inwardly cringe, I don’t see anything wrong with it. The voice cast is solid, and I think they’re set up for some pretty cool drama. My only real concern is how they will handle the humorous streaks; so far, it’s a bit too subdued for my liking. If you can get through Natsukise, this is easy-peasy.
Like Jintai, I enjoyed Utakoi in a real-life kind of way. It’s by far the most educational anime I’ve seen in recent memory. However, unlike Jintai, Utakoi just makes me cringe half the time. Plus, traditional love stories are usually not that funny; in that sense, I applaud the show’s attempt to spruce them up for entertainment. It’s far more palatable than Folktales from Japan.
Natsuyuki Rendezvous is a solid romance that represents the foundation upon which noitaminA is built. I’ll continue watching; the Kuo Matsuo direction + Ken Muramatsu music combination is easy to go along with. Too bad I have a feeling there won’t be a spontaneous musical episode? As long as it’s not too sappy. The NTR joke is well-done.
So, I Can’t Play H isn’t quite the same as Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai, so “I Can’t Do H” sounds much better. There’s a lot of plain nudity in this show; it’s kind of the schtick (in a High School DxD sort of way). I admit the “transformation” scene when fire burns away Risara’s clothes is pretty cool, actually. But is it cool in a “LOL Guilty Crown” sort of way or a “LOL Queen’s Blade” sort of way? I think it might be the latter. Aya Endo lending her voice probably doesn’t help.
Sword Art Online is probably my least favorite new show this season. It’s way too chuu2. From what I understand, the first episode is just setup, so I’m perfectly happy to give it three episodes. So far, little else bothers me about the show, but nothing grabs me either. I guess with Accel World airing concurrently, I have another source to tap into that fantasy genre-turned-shounen-formula. The plot and premise of SAO are better suited for a joke than anything genuinely intriguing. I mean, how can people take it seriously? I enjoy the jokes much more than the anime thus far. Like the one about Korea. Or Brazil. Or China.
Nakaimo is… WHO IS IMOUTO? THERE IS A SISTER AMONG US. Who is imouto indeed! I mean, this. It’s a harem anime this time, straight-up, with the Mom character saying, “Dude, bag a girl, get married, win your massive inheritance; you’re already deemed talented enough.” It’s not my favorite setup for a harem, but I’m going to take it like a man for Jtor here.
Koichoco is short for Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, which translates to love, election, and chocolate. It makes no sense unless you watch the show. I guess going into the show, I knew it only by name and by heritage, meaning I was expecting something closer to this. But I should have known better and realized it might be more like this. Well, the voice cast is intriguing, so I’ll give it a shot. Most likely, I’ll be entirely off base anyway, so why worry?
That’s it for now. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some food for thought about the decline of humanity.
P.S. I was going to link it for the Tsuritama post, but odP’s PV about fishing that debuted at AX is appropriate in the decline of humanity sort of way.
